Tour de Suisse 2026 preview, stages, favourites & predictions - Will Tadej Pogacar win his pre-Tour de France test?

The 2026 Tour de Suisse will take place from the 17th to the 21st of June this year, a special edition in which the race has been thinned down from eight to five race days. Tadej Pogacar headlines the final pre-Tour de France World Tour event, which every year brings a luxurious startlist. We preview the race and look at its stages.

The race was created back in 2033 and was first won by Max Bulla. The race has had winners such as Gino Bartali, Eddy Merckx, Roger de Vlaeminck, Sean Kelly and Lance Armstrong throughout it's almost century-long history.

More recently, the likes of Fabian Cancellara, Rui Costa, Egan Bernal, Richard Carapaz, Geraint Thomas, Mattias Skjelmose, and Adam Yates have become winners. In 2025, it was João Almeida who took the overall win after a set of dominant performances on the mountain stages.

At the end of the day, this is Tadej Pogacar's race to lose, no-one will put that into question. The World Champion is in Switzerland this year to prepare his Tour, a decision that makes sense as the route is easier and the competition is also more modest. A few explosive stages, an individual time trial and a proper mountain stage make for a diverse race where he can test his form. In Romandie, his W/Kg was not impressive, but he will have lost that classics weight since, meaning he should be quite stronger I would say.

Pogacar does not have much to prove, but an overall title would add another prestigious achievement to his palmarès which he does want. He is the absolute man to beat, and should already go into the queen stage in yellow.

His competition revolves around two teams mainly. One is BORA, led by Primoz Roglic who also has in Suisse the one main World Tour stage-race still lacking from his palmarès. Unfortunately, he faces a challenger he may not be able to beat. But for second place, the opening days and the time trial are pretty ideal for him - whilst in the high mountains he might be able to defend himself against the main rivals. He is also backed by an in-form Aleksandr Vlasov.

The other is Bahrain - Victorious, home to Lenny Martínez who has been on a dashing season and is climbing at an incredible level, Antonio Tiberi who is a more consistent rider but in the time trial can make way towards a potential podium; both backed up by the Giro's revelation Afonso Eulálio.

Aside from them the GC battle should also include Ilan van Wilder who topped Pogacar at last year's time trial worlds, and Movistar duo Enric Mas and Nairo Quintana who also has the chance to roll back the years in a race that will suit him.

If it weren't for Pogacar, this would actually be a race headlined by the classics riders. The stage design, resembling the Ardennes classics on several separate days, makes this the favoured approach for the puncheurs and classics specialists towards the Tour. Looking at the startlist this becomes very evident, as Mathieu van der Poel is a clear example of a rider who favoured Switzerland to build towards his Tour. He can challenge Pogacar on a few stages, which will be very interesting to watch.

And the same can be said of Tom Pidcock, who has had a stellar spring and can also be a contender to challenge Pogacar and the Dutchman - whilst also contesting for the overall classification. Puncheurs such as Romain Grégoire, Thibau Nys, Mauro Schmid and Axel Laurance are some of the most explosive in the entire peloton and actually provide the World Champion with a very difficult challenge on the opening days of the race.

Despite not featuring a route that favours the sprinters, there is one opportunity - perhaps two, depending on how it's raced. But of course, these are for the fast men who can climb... But they are present. Matthew Brennan, Tobias Lund Andresen, Kaden Groves, Magnus Cort Nierlsen, Corbin Strong, Michael Matthews, Arnaud de Lie and Alberto Dainese make for a sprinter field that is much superior to what we've seen in Auvergne.

The likes of Alec Segaert and Rémi Cavagna should also make it interesting in the race's time trial, lacking the world-class names that would ordinarily be superior to Tadej Pogacar on the individual effort.

*** Tadej Pogacar

** Lenny Martínez, Antonio Tiberi, Primoz Roglic

* Aleksandr Vlasov, Ilan van Wilder, Richard Carapaz, Tom Picock, Enric Mas, Brandon McNulty

Pick: Tadej Pogacar

The race begins in the city of Sondrio, with the opening stage taking place fully outside of Swiss territory. The race, in fact, begins in Italy, and the riders will have a hilly day where the puncheurs and climbers will set their first differences.

The first 55 kilometers of the stage are flat, but then, in the middle of the Alps, the organizers have designed a route for the puncheurs, with plenty of short but sharp climbs to be tackled. The first of which is right away 2.8 kilometers at 10%.

The riders go through some climbs, but it will be a slow build-up towards the finish. With 16 kilometers to go, the riders tackle a climb that is 1.4 kilometers at 9%, followed by a very fast descent into an intermediate sprint.

With almost no break, then comes the final climb to Bordighi, which is 1.1 kilometers at 11.5%. This climb will decide the stage, ending with a mere 5 kilometers to go. Most of the way to the finish is through a very fast and also slightly technical descent, before the final 1.5 kilometers flatten out as the riders enter the finishing city.

Stage 2 takes place in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland; this time around, actually in Switzerland itself. But that doesn't make things any easier, as it is another day designed for the puncheurs - or because of Tadej Pogacar's presence, there isn't much distinction between who fights for the win.

The stage has a difficult climb close to its start, averaging 6.3% for over 5 kilometers, in which the breakaway should go up the road. Most of the day is then flat and should be calm, before a final set of climbs that is not overly difficult from the previous day.

The first ascent is to Fanghi, with 3.5 kilometers at 7%, ending with 14 kilometers to go. The decisive attacks may indeed come here, as it's the longest of the two climbs, and the descent off of it is very short but very steep and technical.

The riders are dropped off at the literal base of the final ascent to Orselina, which is 1.4 kilometers long at 8.5%. It ends with 9 kilometers to go, with another short but very technical descent taking the riders down to the center of Locarno, where the stage will finish.

Stage 3 is perhaps the easiest of the race and the only one where a sprint is somewhat possible. However, in no way is it a flat stage. It features a very unusual profile, in fact, starting with a 2-kilometer climb at 10% literally from kilometer 0.

This means a strong breakaway will go up the road. Even if it does not happen there, it will happen on the first of the first-category climbs, which is almost 9 kilometers long at 7%. A second tough climb that has 8% for over 4 kilometers ends with 95 kilometers to go.

For the sprinters that are in the race, the stage then becomes more favourable. There is a plateau section still before the riders come down again to the altitude of Bad Ragaz. The final 58 kilometers are flat, which allows for an organized chase to still take place.

The finale is not technical in any way; it is slightly uphill, and it is realistic to believe a bunch sprint could possibly happen here.

The race's individual time trial takes place in Aarburg, with a route that is 23.6 kilometers in length and is virtually pan-flat. Unlike most time trials nowadays, there is no climbing to be tackled amidst the effort, whilst the route is also not technical, allowing the specialists to use their abilities to their best.

The queen stage of the race is the only mountainous stage of the year. There will be several important stages for the overall classification, but in another unusual move, the only mountain stage is a circuit.

The riders begin the stage in Villars-sur-Ollon, where they will also finish a few hours later. Right away, they climb the Col de la Croix for the first time, 3.9 kilometers at 8.8%, where the breakaway is expected to go.

Then the riders ascend the entire Col de la Croix on two separate occasions. The climb is a total of 19 kilometers at 7%, it is a grizzly mountain challenge, especially when tackled twice... The climbs end with 93.5 and 42.5 kilometers to go, respectively.

It wouldn't come as a surprise to see the main attacks on the day come in the second climb - if this is Tadej Pogacar's doing, as Tour de France training. That is because the riders then descend 1300 meters in altitude before reaching the final climb.

Which is once again the Col de la Croix, but this time around, only climbed until Villars-sur-Ollon, so this will be 9.6 kilometers long at 8%, the most difficult part of the climb. There will be 4500 meters of climbing in 151 kilometers.